Longtime Stroudsburg athletic director ponders retirement

After 35 years with the Stroudsburg Area School District, the last 21 as athletic director, Beth Ross is considering retirement. Ross said Tuesday she will make her final and official decision this spring.

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By MIKE KUHNS

poconorecord.com

By MIKE KUHNS

Posted Dec. 5, 2012 at 12:01 AM

By MIKE KUHNS

Posted Dec. 5, 2012 at 12:01 AM

» Social News

After 35 years with the Stroudsburg Area School District, the last 21 as athletic director, Beth Ross is considering retirement.

Ross said Tuesday she will make her final and official decision this spring.

Ross was asked about her status after school officials wanted to update and clarify the duties of the athletic director, Superintendent John Toleno said.

If she does retire this spring, Ross will follow her husband, Fred Ross, who stepped down as Stroudsburg's football coach following the 2010 season.

Beth Ross, 56, said she loves her job and the people she works with but felt that maybe the time was right to retire now.

"I thought about it a couple of years ago, but I wasn't ready," Ross said. "They say you'll know when you're ready."

Ross is a 1974 Stroudsburg High School graduate, who spent her life — other than her years at the University of Alabama — at Stroudsburg.

She attended Ramsey Elementary at age 4. After college, Ross was hired at Stroudsburg 35 years ago and taught home economics. Twenty-one years ago, Ross took the athletic director's job.

In recent years, Stroudsburg's athletic success has exploded with multiple conference championships. The high school campus has undergone a major facelift that changed the location of multiple athletic fields — including FieldTurf and a new scoreboard in Ross-Stulgaitis Stadium — as well as construction of a new gymnasium.

Ross said she understands if the school prepares for change in her office.

"If they are advertising, I understand," Ross said. "The district has been so good to me."

The athletic director's job description is listed on tonight's school board agenda.